


You Flower, You Feast

by auto_allthetime



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Brooding, Harry Styles Loves Louis Tomlinson, Louis Tomlinson Calls Harry Styles Pet Names, M/M, Mythical Beings & Creatures, No Smut, Non-Famous Louis Tomlinson, Romance, Slow Burn, Soulmates, Vampires
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-01-16
Packaged: 2021-03-12 14:48:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28762056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/auto_allthetime/pseuds/auto_allthetime
Summary: Louis Tomlinson is a tired yet determined pediatrician who got stuck with the night shift. He’s serving out the 2nd year of a seemingly endless residency at a local hospital where nothing interesting ever happens. Until one night, as Louis is reaching the end of his shift and doing his nightly bed check, he stumbles upon something extraordinary. Something dangerous. Something that completely turns his world upside down.
Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson
Comments: 1
Kudos: 17





	You Flower, You Feast

**Author's Note:**

> If you’re reading this strange little brainchild of mine, THANK YOU! I hope someone enjoys reading this as much as I have enjoyed writing it!
> 
> **currently working on chapter 2!:)

Louis sighed and adjusted his name tag as he absentmindedly scrolled through his Twitter feed. He glanced at the clock, which read 3:15 AM. Only fifteen minutes left of his shift. 

He backed away from his desk, the wheels of his chair making an unpleasant squeak as they moved. 

He slowly got up, stretched, and walked out of his cramped office. He smiled at Zayn, the receptionist, as he walked by the front desk. 

“Bed check?”, asked Zayn, not looking up from his computer screen. Louis suspected he was just watching old Bob Ross videos. 

Louis sighed heavily. “Yep. Then I’m out.”

Zayn, still focused on his computer, held up a lazy thumbs up in response. 

Louis continued walking, sticking his head into every room. One thing he loved about the pediatric ward at St. Jefferson Memorial Hospital was the relationship he developed with every single child he was assigned to. He smiled as he snuck a peek at five year old Bethany, who slept soundly. The beeping of her heart monitor chimed steadily as she quietly snored. 

He continued his check, occasionally leaving little sticky notes with positive affirmations stuck to the doors of a few children who he thought needed them. Fifteen year old Stacy, who claimed to hate everyone and everything, received a sticky note every night. She would never admit it, but Louis knew she kept every note. Every week when he went to check her white blood cell levels, he could see a sliver of a few bright pink slips of paper sticking out of her desk drawer. 

He pulled out a sticky note and contemplated on what to write for a moment before deciding on _“life is too short to not love who you are”_. He smiled as he recalled seeing a small framed photo of Stacy with a petite, brunette girl about her age at a pride parade. He had asked her about it once, but judging by the pale complexion that came over her face, she wasn’t used to adults being supportive of her endeavors. Louis supposed that was why he and Stacy had developed a sort of accidental friendship during her last nine months in the ward: he had dealt with a very similar problem for a long time. 

He stuck the note on the side of the door so she would see it tomorrow morning and continued on his walk.

He hummed a semi-forgotten song quietly under his breath as his droopy eyes threatened to overcome him. He yawned as he neared the end of the hallway.

Suddenly, he perked up as he began to hear a strange noise. A frantic commotion was coming from the room at the end of the hall. The Blood Issue and Transfusions Center. 

Louis narrowed his eyes quizzically. The only people that could possibly be here at this time of night were him, Zayn, and the night janitor. The janitor had gone home at least three hours ago, and it couldn’t be Zayn. 

He walked warily towards the door, hand drifting towards his phone. He figured he should have it out and ready to make an emergency call, just in case. 

He drifted towards the doorway, holding his breath in anticipation. He stopped directly outside the room and poked his head halfway into it.

In the far left corner of the room, a strange figure was bent over the open cooler where the bags of donated blood used for transfusions were kept. The stranger moved with a sense of desperation, his moves choppy and breathing heavy. 

Louis took a step forward. “Hey!”, he exclaimed. “What the hell are you doing?!”

The man straightened his back abruptly and twisted around, bewildered. He noticed Louis’ phone had the keypad already pulled up to rat him out. 

He slowly slipped the top of the cooler back into its spot and clasped his hands together. “Hi there.”, he said nervously. “Um...can I help you?”

Louis, taken aback, sputtered out, “Wha- help me? Are you insane?” 

He paused and surveyed the tall stranger. He didn’t look particularly hostile, but then again, he was just rooting through confidential medical supplies without clearance. 

The man chuckled uncomfortably. “Sorry. I don’t...I wasn’t expecting to run into anyone. I normally don’t.”

Louis stared at him, mouth agape. “ _Normally?_ This is a regular routine?”, he yelled furiously. 

The stranger scuttled backwards, tripping clumsily over a crack in the floor. He caught himself and exhaled softly. 

His eyes shifted around the room as he gestured wildly with his hands. “Keep your voice down! Someone’s going to hear you!”

“Alright that’s it. Don’t move. I’m calling the police.”, said Louis. 

He quickly typed in the number 911, but just as his hand hovered over the call button, he was pushed roughly against the wall. His hand was suddenly pinned behind him. 

Louis’ eyes widened as he stared at the other man, who had crossed the room faster than Louis thought was possible.

“Make a call, and you’re dead.”, the stranger growled. 

Louis gulped. Shit. He had never thought he would die like this. At the hands of a crazed blood thief. 

The man locked eyes with Louis and despite being quite literally trapped (his uninvited guest was extremely strong), Louis didn’t feel scared. The man’s eyes looked scared. He wasn’t really going to do anything. 

Louis sighed. “If you let me go, I’ll put the phone down.”

The man narrowed his eyes. “No tricks?”

Louis shook his head and held up his pinky. “Promise.”

The strange man slowly loosened his grip on Louis and backed away. He stood there a bit awkwardly. 

Louis scoffed. “So what, were you trying to steal from a children’s hospital?”, he asked, crossing his arms sternly. 

Although this stranger was much bigger than Louis was, and most likely much more dangerous, he couldn’t bring himself to feel afraid. Maybe it was the fact that it was nearing sunrise and he hadn’t slept in almost twenty four hours.

The man looked down guiltily. “It’s...complicated.”

Louis narrowed his eyes. “Okay...Now, forgive my bluntness, but I think I’m going to ask you a few questions. And I think answers will be a fair trade for me not sending you to prison, don’t you think?”

The stranger avoided Louis’ eyes and reluctantly nodded. “I guess...”

“Great. Now, I’m going to close the door so the other employees don’t see us and try to call the cops on you too, which honestly I should be doing right now.”, said Louis. 

The man tilted his head in question. “Well then why aren’t you?”

Louis laughed roughly. “You see, Curly, I’m an idiot. I do stupid things. Let’s just...not let this be the stupid thing that gets me killed, agreed?”, he negotiated, eyeing the stranger’s large hands. 

The man nodded slowly. “Agreed?”

“Good”, said Louis as he closed the door. “Now I’m turning the lights on.”

The bright LED lights blinded Louis for a moment. When his eyes refocused, he got his first real look at the intruder. 

He was tall. Much taller than Louis. He had his hair up in a bun, but Louis estimated it to be of about shoulder length. Judging by the small waves poking out from the top of his head, his hair was curly. But Louis had already noticed those things. What he hadn’t noticed was the extremely pale tint of his skin and the deep purple bags under his eyes. Frankly, he looked like he hadn’t slept in weeks. He wore a long gray coat and black skinny jeans. Louis paused for an extra moment when he saw his shoes. They were sparkly, navy-colored Chelsea boots. 

He shifted his weight from side to side uncomfortably as Louis inspected him. He seemed genuinely nervous about being in the same room as Louis, but that was understandable. Louis supposed that if he had been caught in the act of stealing medical contaminants, he would be pretty uncomfortable too.

Louis started a bit when the stranger reached into the pocket of his coat. 

“Relax. I’m just getting these.”, explained the man, holding up a pair of sunglasses and resting them on his face. 

Louis’ eyebrows knit together in confusion. “Can I ask why you’re wearing sunglasses indoors? At night?”

The stranger shrugged. “The light hurts my eyes.”

Louis nodded. “Okay...not gonna lie, that’s fucking weird.”

The man merely shrugged again, keeping his eyes trained on the floor in front of Louis. 

Louis looked around the room and spotted a stack of folding chairs propped against the wall. He grabbed two and set them up. He gestured towards the one opposite him. “Alright. Sit.”

The man sighed and scooted his chair about a foot further back from where Louis had placed it before he sat.

“Who the hell are you?”, Louis asked, getting straight to the point. 

“I’m Harry. Harry Styles.”, said the man. 

Louis nodded. “Okay, Harry, riddle me this: what were you doing before I interrupted you?”

Harry shifted nervously. “I thought that was pretty obvious?”

Louis shook his head. “I want to hear you say it.”

“I was...attempting to steal a bag of blood from your stores.”, Harry said, voice barely audible. “Which”, he added, “is very thoroughly stocked and would not suffer from the loss of one bag. 

Louis nodded, taken aback by the insane nature of the conversation he had gotten himself into. “Mhmm. And just what were you planning on doing with that blood?”

Harry took a deep breath, then winced as if he was in pain. “I’m sorry, could we move to a different place? I don’t know how much longer I can handle this smell.”

Louis rolled his eyes. “Don’t tell me you can smell blood or some bullshit. We’re staying right here until I have all the answers I want. Besides, if I opened that door, I wouldn’t be surprised if you made a run for it.”

Harry sunk down in his seat, pouting like a toddler.

Louis narrowed his eyes. “Are you actually sensitive to the smell?”, he asked skeptically. 

Harry nodded fervently. “Extremely.”

“Strange. But you didn’t answer the last question: what were you planning on doing with the blood?”

“If I told you, you wouldn’t believe me.”, Harry stated matter-of-factly. 

Louis scoffed. “Try me.”

Harry hesitated. “Let’s just say...I’m in desperate need of it.”

“Are you sick? And not able to pay a hospital bill? Because if that’s the case, arrangements can be made...”

Harry bit his lip. “Not exactly. It’s, um, complicated.”

Louis rolled his eyes. “What could you possibly need it for? I’m sorry you’re uncomfortable with my questions, but honestly, how did you expect to get away without being noticed? Speaking of, how did you get in unnoticed?”

“I...” Harry placed his head in his hands, groaning. “Oh my god, I’m going to have to tell you.”

“Yeah, that was the whole point of this interrogation, Sherlock.”, Louis replied sarcastically. 

Suddenly, Harry hopped up, taking off his sunglasses and squinting with effort against the light. He leaned in close to Louis’ face, barely an inch away. Louis’ heart skipped a beat despite himself. He had to admit, this man was not unattractive. 

“Look into my eyes. Please.”, Harry said desperately. “I don’t want to say it out loud. Maybe you can guess.”

Louis backed away a minuscule bit. “What? What are you trying to do?”

Harry shook his head. “Just look!”, he said frantically. 

Louis reluctantly made eye contact with Harry and examined his eyes. When he finally got a close look at them, he gasped.

Harry’s eyes were a shade of emerald green at first glance, but up close, the irises had a sprinkling of red flecks swimming around them. Literally. The flecks moved around the colored portion of his eyes. 

“What the hell?”, he muttered. 

Harry stood back. “Well?”

“Well what? It looks sort of like you burst a blood vessel or some shit.”, said Louis, although something told him that definitely wasn’t the case. 

Harry groaned and replaced the sunglasses. “No! Um, Oh god.”, he babbled. “I’ve never said this out loud. Not to an actual human being.”

Louis glanced at the door. Maybe if he ran for it, he could escape his stupidly self inflicted trap and call the police, like he should have done about fifteen minutes ago. 

Harry gasped. “I’ve got it! I’m going to give you some words and you say the first word that you associate with them!”, he said, scaring Louis just a bit with his sudden enthusiasm. 

Louis slowly nodded. “Okay?”

He didn’t understand what the big deal was. In the back of his mind, he really did believe Harry might just be sick and not able to pay the medical bills or something like that. But as he glanced at Harry’s expensive looking outfit, he began to think that wasn’t the case. 

“Okay.”, said Harry. “Pale.”

“Skin.”, Louis replied immediately. 

“That’s kind of the right direction I guess...teeth.”

“Dentist.”

Harry shook his head. He seemed to contemplate what to say next for about thirty seconds before a dark look appeared in his eyes. He swallowed once and took a deep breath. 

“Monster?”, he said quietly. Timidly. 

“Um...werewolf?”

Harry’s eyes lit up. “That’s a step towards the answer but only if...oh! Twilight!”

Louis narrowed his eyes. He took in Harry’s sickly demeanor one more time. He peered at the sunglasses that hid his eyes. His strange, red-flecked eyes.

The realization dawned on him all at once. “Vampire.”, he whispered. 

Harry jumped up and down in victory. “That’s it! Yes! So do you get it now?”

Louis didn’t answer right away. He sat there, staring at the lanky, clumsy thing in front of him thinking it couldn’t be true. Not _him_. 

“You...you were taking the blood because you needed a meal?”, he asked, thoughts nearing hysteria. 

Harry nodded slowly and shifted his feet awkwardly. “I mean, I know this is a huge discovery for you or whatever, but...I have to eat somehow.”

Louis stood up abruptly. “I’m not concerned with the fact that you have to eat!”, he yelled. “I’m concerned with the fact that you exist!”

“I was just as surprised when I found out.”, said Harry, shrugging. “I didn’t even realize I was...”

“A fucking VAMPIRE?!”, Louis exclaimed. 

“Yeah, that. I didn’t realize at first. So I was just as surprised as you. More so, actually.”

Louis shook his head viciously. “How the hell do you not realize you’ve become a blood thirsty monster?!”

Harry cringed slightly at the word ‘monster’, but continued anyway. “It was really an accident. Me becoming a vampire, I mean. If you’ll hold out your hand, I can show you.”, he offered timidly. 

“What do you mean show me?”, Louis asked, assuming he meant that in the ‘I’ll make you a vampire too’ kind of way. 

Harry saw his adverse reaction and shook his head. “Let me rephrase that? Vampires have the ability to share memories with a person or other creature by touching them. If you’ll let me touch your arm, I can show you what happened.”

Louis narrowed his eyes skeptically. “You won’t lash out? Bite me?”, he asked warily. 

Harry smiled slightly, showing the tip of a slightly sharper than normal canine. “Although it’s taking a lot of restraint, what with being in a room filled with the only substance that satisfies my eternal thirst, I think I can manage a little while longer.”, he said, holding out his hand. 

Louis slowly offered his hand to Harry, who rested his own hand gingerly on Louis’ forearm. 

Harry closed his eyes and instructed Louis to do the same. 

Louis reluctantly shut his own eyes and found that instead of being in a dark void like one usually is when eyes are closed, he was now standing in a crowded basement filled with people. A party? 

He looked to his side and jumped when he noticed Harry standing beside him. “Sorry.”, Harry whispered. 

He pointed to the other side of the room. “There I am. Listen.”

Sure enough, about five feet away stood Harry. He looked exactly the same as he did now, except he was wearing his hair down and was wearing an extremely brightly colored outfit, complete with orange corduroy flares. 

The apparently younger version of Harry spoke up. 

“Dude, I’m really craving something right now.”

“Like what?”, asked the boy he was talking to. 

“I dunno...pizza rolls?”, Harry said quizzically, eyeing the refreshments table. 

Suddenly Louis felt Harry’s touch again and they were transported to a different memory. 

“Hey man, you haven’t gone outside in a while...”, said a blonde boy a little shorter than Harry. 

Harry nodded. “Yeah, last time I went out I got a really wicked sunburn.”

Another soft touch, and they’re standing in the middle of another party. 

“Hey Harry, how come for the past month you’ve always asked before coming into the house?”

Harry rolled his eyes. “It’s called being polite?”

Suddenly everything went black. It was only for a second, though because soon Louis was standing back in the Transfusions Center. 

He stared at Harry, mouth hanging open. “You...you weren’t lying.”, he said, absolutely shell shocked and slightly nauseous. 

Harry’s brows knitted together. “Well yeah. Why would I lie about that, of all things?”

Louis sat back down heavily. “You genuinely didn’t know what had happened? What happened when you got too hungry?”

Harry’s eyes darkened. “I’ve, well, slipped up a few times. After the first time, I was horrified. Soon, I figured out that I could just take bags of blood from hospitals or donation centers when no one was looking. One of my friends figured it out about the same time I did. He used to let me occasionally drink a bit of his blood. With consent, obviously.”

Louis shook his head, exasperated. “You can drink blood without turning the other person into a vampire?”

Harry nodded. “There’s a difference between drinking blood and straight up biting the person.”, he scoffed. “Also, he willingly let me, so don’t think I did it without asking.”

“You ask for consent before sucking someone dry? What, do you treat it like sex?”, Louis asked frantically. 

Harry blushed. “Yes, actually.”, he mumbled, eyes trained on the floor. 

Louis was silent for a moment, trying to gather his thoughts. “What the hell.”, he stated as he plopped back down onto his chair. 

“Oh god, I shouldn’t have told you. I should have just kill-“, Harry stopped mid-sentence, immediately regretting what he almost said. 

Louis’ head snapped up, his eyes wide. “Were you about to say you should have _killed_ me?!”

Harry shook his head. “No!” After a slight pause, “Well, yes. But I wouldn’t have! I mean, your blood smells really great and everything, but I’m not even that big a fan of O+!”, he exclaimed, attempting to calm Louis down. 

“You can smell different blood types?”, Louis asked, choosing to ignore the murder comment. 

Harry nodded fiercely. “Yeah. And I swear, I really wouldn’t have actually killed you. I haven’t killed a person in _years_ “, he said, as if it was something to be proud of.

Louis groaned and tilted his head back so he was staring at the ceiling. “Dear God. I’ve just become the main character of a horror movie.”

Harry snorted. “If anything, I’d be the main character.”

Louis narrowed his eyes. “And how do I know you’re not the villain?”

“I myself am not sure of that.”, said Harry. 

They were both silent for a moment. Louis was speechless. He had just made this huge, monumental discovery, and his mind just stopped working. It was like he was dissociated from his consciousness and watching this event unfold from the sideline. 

Maybe it was just a dream. Yeah, maybe he would wake up soon and find himself passed out on his couch, still in his scrubs from the night before. 

“You know at first I really wanted to make a run for it, but I actually quite like this conversation.”, Harry finally said. 

Louis blinked in disbelief. “Well, that makes one of us.”, he muttered. 

Harry looked longingly behind him at the cooler full of blood. When he turned back to Louis, his voice sounded desperate and a bit parched. “Can we please move somewhere else?”, he begged. “I promise I won’t run. I’ll answer all your questions!”

Louis sighed, wondering what he should do. His heartbeat quickened, and he highly suspected that Harry could hear it. 

“Why should I believe you?”, he asked warily. 

“Well, I haven’t had a proper conversation with a human in like fifteen years. I kind of have some questions of my own.”

Louis tried to think of a place they could possibly go, although he knew he probably shouldn’t trust this...man. Monster?

But as he looked at Harry, he couldn’t see any evidence of hostility in his stance or demeanor. 

He glanced at the clock on his phone. He should have left twenty minutes ago. 

“Can you handle being in a car with me?”, he asked, an idea forming in his head. “Or is that like...too compact of a space?”

Harry seemed to debate the idea with himself. “I’m about sixty percent sure I could.” 

Noticing Louis’ grimace, he quickly added. “If I could have just a tiny bit of that blood, I’d say about ninety percent.”

Louis bit his lip and looked around even though the door was closed and no one else was in the room. Was he really about to steal a bag of blood from a children’ hospital for a fabled creature he barely knew or trusted? 

Louis sighed heavily as he pushed past the much taller man and opened the cooler. “Is there a specific...type...you prefer?”, he asked tremulously. 

Harry perked up, as if he was surprised Louis had agreed. 

“A- is the best, I think.”

Louis grabbed the bag, crinkling his nose in disgust. He tossed it at Harry, who caught it effortlessly, barely moving. 

“Uh, just don’t drip it anywhere.”, Louis said, unsure of what to expect. Judging by movies he had seen in the past, it was bound to be messy. And-

“Wait, do you lose control of yourself when you drink it or something? Like in Twilight?”

Harry laughed and shook his head. “Of course not! And also, don’t worry about dripping.”, he said as he reached into his pocket again. This time he pulled out a collapsible metal straw. He stuck it into the bag and started sipping with no hesitation.

Louis raised his eyebrows, surprised at how docile Harry seemed, which was strange, considering he was literally standing there drinking human blood. He drank it eagerly, like he hadn’t had anything to drink in days. 

He paused for a moment to say, “Thank you, by the way. I really needed this.”

He stood there, drinking it like a Caprisun, until he got to the bottom and sipped the last bit. He exhaled happily and smiled. “Thank you.”, he said again. “Really.”

Louis nodded slowly. “You’re welcome, I guess.”, he said, disgusted, yet somewhat amazed by what he had just witnessed. “Alright, let’s get to my car. Then we can go somewhere else. I would suggest just going to another room, but my shift ended a while ago and I shouldn’t really be here.” 

Harry nodded, licking the straw clean and stuffing it back in his pocket. “Lead the way.” 

Louis hesitantly opened the door and poked his head out. 

“No one’s coming, if that’s what you’re looking for.”, Harry said. 

“How do you know?”, Louis retorted. “You’re not even near the door.” 

Harry rolled his eyes. “I would hear them.” 

“Then why didn’t you hear me?”, Louis challenged. 

Harry blushed slightly. “I was distracted. And thirsty.”, he said, trying to defend himself. 

Louis sighed and gestured for him to follow. They walked quietly down the hallway. Louis didn’t realize they would have to pass Zayn on the way out until he began to hear the soft music coming from the speaker near his desk. 

“Shit!”, he whispered. “I forgot about Zayn!”

Harry tilted his head in question. “Who’s Zayn?”

“He’s the receptionist. He’ll be suspicious, considering none of us saw you come in...”

Harry blinked. “Don’t worry. I’m sure we can come up with something.”

Louis rolled his eyes and continued walking. “Whatever you say, Curly.”

He heard Harry chuckle lightly behind him and smiled. He didn’t know why, but his laugh was somehow very comforting. 

Louis slowed down when they neared Zayn’s desk, heart racing. 

Harry leaned down. “Calm down.”, he whispered. “Your heart is _really_ loud.”

“Yeah thanks. That’s definitely something I can control.”, Louis snapped. 

“Lou?”, called Zayn. Well, shit. He had heard Louis’ outburst.

“Hey Zayn.”, Louis replied, trying his best to walk past the front desk casually. 

Zayn immediately caught sight of Harry and blinked in surprise. “Hello. I don’t remember you coming in.”, he said simply. “Who’s this, Lou?”

“I- He...we were-“

Harry gently pushed Louis to the side and took over. “Hi there.”, he purred, voice silky smooth. “I’m Harry. I came to visit my sister and got a bit turned around. Louis here was just helping me out.”

Zayn nodded, shoulders relaxing. “Oh, alright. I just thought Louis had left a while ago, so I was a little spooked.”, he laughed. 

Harry chuckled. “I really am sorry about this. I didn’t mean to cause a stir.”

He turned to Louis. “Or interrupt your night.”, he said. 

Louis smiled slightly, still slightly on edge. “Well”, he said, turning to Zayn. “I guess I’ll show Harry out. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

Zayn nodded, already becoming preoccupied with his Youtube videos again. 

Louis ushered Harry towards the elevator quickly. Once they were inside, he let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. 

Harry started laughing the second Louis pressed the down button. 

“What’s so funny?”, Louis asked skeptically. 

“Nothing much.”, said Harry. “Just the way your brain completely shut down at the thought of coming up with a solid excuse.”

Louis rolled his eyes. “Zayn’s my friend.”, he said. “I don’t particularly like lying to him.”

“That’s understandable.”, said Harry, nodding. 

“Mhmm.”, Louis hummed, keeping his eyes trained on the small screen that read the floor numbers. As soon as the doors opened and released them out onto the first floor, Louis grabbed Harry’s hand and pulled him out of the lobby quickly. 

When they exited the building, he let go. “Sorry. I didn’t want to be yelled at. You don’t have a visitor’s tag or anything.”

Harry nodded. “Good thinking. So, which one’s yours?”

Louis pointed to the green Subaru sitting under the light of a street lamp, the only car left in the front row. 

He unlocked the car and hopped in. He stared at Harry, who stood awkwardly outside the passenger door. 

“Well? Are you coming?”

Harry looked down seeming a bit embarrassed. “You have to...invite me before I can come in.”

“What? That’s actually a thing?”

Harry nodded slightly. 

“I thought that was with houses?”

Harry sighed. “It’s houses, cars, buildings, everything.”

Louis laughed. “Well then, I cordially invite you to sit in my crappy car.”

Harry smiled in return and slid into the car. “Thanks.”

Louis nodded. “So can you just not physically enter a place unless you’re invited, or is it some intense need to be polite?”

“If I’m not invited and I attempt to enter somewhere, this weird invisible barrier prevents me from going inside.”, Harry explained. 

“Wow. I didn’t know that was—wait! How did you get into the hospital if you need permission to enter a building?”, Louis asked. 

Harry shrugged. “I don’t have to have permission from anyone relevant. Just permission in general. I asked a lady coming out if I could go in. She gave me a weird look, but she said yes anyway.”

Louis laughed. “So do you do that every time you go somewhere?”

“Yep. I get a lot of weird looks, but I don’t really care anymore. I barely interact with people anyway.”

Louis glanced over at Harry and examined his outfit once more, noting the high quality of it all.

“So what exactly do you do? Like for work?”, he asked, trying to sound casual. 

Harry’s eyes darkened. “Next question.”

Louis opened his mouth to protest, but thought better of it. He didn’t completely trust Harry not to snap and well, snap his _neck_. 

“Okay, we’ll leave that for now.”, he said. He waited until Harry relaxed a bit before asking his next question. 

“So are you actually allergic to garlic?”, he asked. 

Harry nodded. “Yep. Quite a few of the cliches are true, actually.”

Louis blinked. “Alright. While I back out the parking lot, tell me every cliche that’s true.”

“Fine, but when I’m done, I get to ask you something.”

“Deal!”, Louis said, shifting his gear into reverse. 

Harry began listing his array of vampiric qualities. 

“Can’t go out in the sun, can’t go anywhere without being invited, can’t see myself in mirrors or pictures, wooden stake equals bad news, but honestly who wouldn’t that kill?”, he asked before continuing, “super strong and fast, enhanced senses and reflexes, crucifixes ward me off, um...what else?”

He scrunched his nose in concentration. Louis glanced at him from the corner of his eye. 

“How long do vampires typically live?”, he asked. 

Harry immediately answered. “No one knows for sure. I’m pretty sure the oldest living vampire is about four thousand years old. Basically, I don’t die until someone decides to kill me.”

Louis nodded, a little awestruck. “Wow. That’s insane. How old are you?”

“I was born in 1968, so if I hadn’t been turned, I’d be fifty two. I got turned when I was twenty one, in 1989.”, he said. 

“Wow. So you’re not some ancient, victorian era blood sucker. Man, you never even got to see anything interesting happen.”

Harry nodded slowly. “Yeah. Not yet, at least. I guess I’ll see some cool stuff eventually.”

Louis was vaguely creeped out by the thought that he himself wouldn’t be around for long enough to witness any particularly world changing events. 

Harry piped up again then. 

“Hey, I was only supposed to answer one question!”, he whined. “It’s my turn!”

Louis couldn’t help but laugh. Harry was quickly proving himself to be a very charismatic presence. He turned on his blinker as he changed lanes. “Alright. Go for it.”

Harry leaned back in his seat and thought for a moment. 

“How old are _you_?”, he asked, propping his head on his hand and leaning on the center console. He seemed genuinely interested and it was sort of endearing to Louis. 

“Out of any question you could ask, you go for that?”

Harry chuckled. “You asked the same question a minute ago!”

“Yes, but it was more of a pressing issue concerning you.”, Louis replied. “I’m twenty three.”

Harry nodded. “So technically speaking, you’re older.”

Louis rolled his eyes. “If you’re going by physical age, yeah I guess so. But you’re actually old enough to be my dad, so...”

Harry shuddered. “Ew. The thought of actually being old terrifies me.”

Louis narrowed his eyes. “So I’m guessing your brain never matures past the age you’re turned at, correct?”

“You got it.”, said Harry. “How could you tell?”

Louis laughed lightly. “From what I’ve observed so far, you have quite a few childlike tendencies.”

Harry shrugged. “Guess I’m just young at heart. Where are we going?”, he asked, peering out the window. 

“I thought we could just go back to my place.”, Louis said. “I’m super tired and would rather not stay away from my bed for any longer than I have to.”

Harry blinked, surprised. “You trust me enough to let me into your house?”, he asked, breathless. 

“Somewhat.”, said Louis. “And I think I’ll be able to think of more questions once we get there.”

Harry nodded, still looking shocked. “You’ve just met me and have figured out my darkest secret, yet despite it all, you’re being _nice_ to me?”

Louis looked at Harry momentarily before training his eyes on the road once more. “Well, I personally think this is a groundbreaking discovery and would like to know more. And you don’t seem particularly intent on hurting me.”

“Yeah, you’re right. If I wanted to kill you, I would have already.”, said Harry simply. 

“Right...thanks for that.”, Louis said. 

“Sorry. That came out worse than it sounded in my head.”, said Harry, blushing. “It’s just been a really long time since anyone’s treated me like a person.”

Louis smiled. “Well Curly, get used to it. From now on I’m just imagining you as an extremely weird hipster dude. It’s actually not that hard, if I don’t think about your diet.”

Harry laughed. “Thanks. I also try not to think about it too much. It’s only when I’m thirsty that I really even think of myself as a vampire.”

“How often do you have to eat?”, Louis asked. 

“About every month. I can eat human food and everything, but nothing other than blood will satisfy the thirst.”

Louis nodded. “Interesting.”

He reached over and turned on the radio. They rode the rest of the way to Louis’ flat listening to the mindless chatter of a cocky radio host. 

When they arrived, Louis got out and Harry followed him. Louis made it a few steps in before turning back to Harry, who waited expectantly on the doorstep. 

He sighed heavily. “Yes, you can come in.”


End file.
